


Fate's Continuation Headcanons

by CeliaEquus



Series: Author Has a Twisted Sense of Humour [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, F/M, Family, Headcanon, M/M, Multi, Multiple Crossovers, Multiple Pairings, Multiple Relationships, Platonic Soulmates, Romance, Sequel, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, crossovers, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-26
Updated: 2015-08-02
Packaged: 2018-04-06 05:58:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4210611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeliaEquus/pseuds/CeliaEquus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>People often ask how various chapters continue in 'Fate Has a Twisted Sense of Humour'.  Here are my headcanons for what happens next, with an occasional bonus scene (i.e. if I can write something).</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel thingummies, or other fandoms mentioned within the fic, nor am I making money from this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapters One to Ten

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoy these mini head-canons of mine re. what happens after each chapter of 'Fate Has a Twisted Sense of Humour'. Not as fleshed out as the bonding scenes, of course; really just snippets of what I imagine would follow, especially since I won't do a bonding scene for every chapter. But I don't intend to write actual sequels for any of the chapters.
> 
> The thing with this series is that it's about soulmates meeting, and often the trouble certain ships cause, especially depending on the situations in which they meet. This should give you some idea of how the stories would continue. You might want to read over the chapters again, at least the ends, to remind yourself of what happened.
> 
> Chapter one is here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/3398315/chapters/7437749

**1\. Spectrometers (Bruce Banner/Phil Coulson)**

Bruce carefully explains how Fury brought Phil back to life with the TAHITI protocol, and while Phil can't remember the details of the procedure, he knows that it was a Bad Thing, and he won't rest easy until he finds answers. The Avengers promise to help him, and Tony even starts work on a memory-regaining machine.

In the meantime, Phil and Bruce get to know each other. Instead of Phil getting over his crush on Bruce, and his soulmark fading to platonic grey, spending so much time with Bruce darkens the words. He still doesn't call their meals alone 'dates', although they've become that somewhere along the way for Bruce, who shouldn't be so surprised when he finds that the soulmark on the top of his thigh has darkened nearly to black.

He broaches it during dessert on one of their not-dates, awkwardly trying to ascertain the shade of Phil's mark. He admits that it isn't getting any lighter, but that he's working on fighting his feelings, and that maybe they should spend less time together. He nearly chokes on his ice cream when Bruce instead proposes that they try bonding. Back at the tower, Phil is shocked to find out that Bruce's feelings are no longer platonic; Bruce had predicted that his feelings for Phil might change, but this is proof. So, after dancing around the topic for a few more minutes, Bruce pounces on Phil, and they bond that very night. Everyone teases them the next day for their definite glow (and love-bites).

**2\. Good Morning (Bucky Barnes/fem!Phil Coulson)**

Phyllis and Fury continues to exchange messages, until he's able to call her on a secure line. She gives him all the information Bucky has been able to recall, and promises to help SHIELD bring down HYDRA from the inside as soon as she can. Bucky is reluctant to let her leave the house, though. He's still trying to recover his more personal memories, outside of what HYDRA made him do as the Asset. Phyl helps him as much as she can, less fangirl and more devoted soulmate, lending her idol every book she has on Captain America and the Howling Commandoes. She buys things at the comic book store, still trying to keep under SHIELD-HYDRA's radar in her home town.

In a spectacular two-day siege, loyal SHIELD agents take out confirmed HYDRA spies and capture those whose allegiance is shaky/unconfirmed. Afterwards, she and Bucky book into a motel until they have the energy to return to the house. When they finally do, since it's going to take awhile to rebuild SHIELD, even just clean up after HYDRA-Gate, Fury makes her take some time off. Bucky had mentioned wanting a family, and Phyllis figures they should try for a baby while there's a higher chance of conception, and also so that she can return to the field sooner, rather than later. Bucky is definitely into the idea, and it doesn't take long before his enthusiasm pays off.

They end up having two children over the next few years, and Phyl chooses to become a handler, rather than going back into the field. She and Bucky are a bit uncertain at the start, but eventually get a hang of the parenting business. He does regain the rest of his memories, and just in time… because they find Steve, who becomes Uncle Steve to the kids. Phyl worries that Bucky and Steve don't seem to age, whereas of course she and the children do. Bucky doesn't care, and after the effects of the cryogenics wear off he starts to age properly, while the original serum keeps Steve at the same physical age he was when the plane went down.

**3\. The Bird, the Nerd, and the Merc (Bobbi Morse/Jemma Simmons/Lance Hunter, background Alphonso Mackenzie/Leo Fitz, plus** _**Elementary** _ **crossover)**

Jemma doesn't meet Mycroft Holmes until several months after she, Bobbi, and Hunter bond. Mack and Fitz jumped into bonding quite quickly after the revelation that they were soulmates, even though Fitz hadn't realised it when they met. Mycroft is actually visiting Sherlock and Joan, and they tell him that Hunter (Sherrinford Holmes) has found his other soulmate. It's arranged that next time the SHIELD agents are in New York, they visit Joan and Sherlock, and Jemma sees exactly what Hunter and Bobbi mean when they refer to the Holmes brothers 'deducing' things.

On the other hand, Mycroft and Sherlock are impressed by Jemma's genius IQ, even though she uses her intelligence in a different way. Much scientific discussion goes on, while Hunter and Mycroft talk about work, and Bobbi and Joan mediate when things get heated between the three brothers. Sherlock and Mycroft are concerned that Hunter is wasting his education and talent on SHIELD, which Bobbi and Jemma take exception to.

As for the future beyond that? No idea.

**4\. Hot in Winter (Johnny Storm/Phil Coulson)**

It takes about two months for Johnny to coax Phil into his bed, though after much worshipping he gets Phil to bond with him. They split their time between staying at the Baxter, so that Johnny can see his family, and Stark Tower, since Phil works with the Avengers. The Avengers and the Fantastic Four fight more battles together, and actually manage to do less damage together than separately.

Phil gets an unwelcome surprise: an invitation to his high school reunion. He's never attended one, always managing to be out of the country when a gathering is supposed to be taking place. Johnny sees through this as Phil avoiding the people who bullied him, and insists that they go to this one. He ensures that he leaves some visible love-bites which Phil wouldn't notice without a mirror, but anyone else could see. Johnny is also very affectionate, and when it becomes apparent that not nearly enough people recognise him, and that there's a rumour going around that Phil paid him to be there – that they're not even soulmates – he sends a message to his sister and Natasha, arranging a made-up villain to strike nearby. He and Phil go all BAMF on the baddie, and people realise that this is the Human Torch, and that Phil moves better than any of the others his age.

" _That was the perfect revenge," Phil said, blinking, as Johnny drove them back to the hotel. "I… I can't believe it. The coincidence…"_

" _Didn't know you believed in coincidence," Johnny remarked. Phil's eyes narrowed._

" _Knew it," he muttered. "You arranged this, didn't you?"_

" _Figured a back-up plan would be good," Johnny said. "Susan and Natasha were the brains behind it, since they figured that if I knew the choreography then it might not look spontaneous enough for the audience, and especially you."_

_Phil half-smiled, glancing at Johnny out of the corner of his eye. "Thank you."_

" _I love you, Phil. You know that. I wasn't gonna let those bastards get you down."_

" _Still—"_

" _No. You didn't even want to go to dinner with me because they made you so insecure. I nearly lost my chance with you. If it wasn't for…"_

" _If it wasn't for your charming personality," Phil said, and Johnny sniggered._

" _Yeah, that," he said. "I never would've hooked you."_

" _Hmm."_

_When they got back to their room, Johnny tugged Phil onto the bed before they could get undressed, and cuddled him close, burying his nose behind Phil's ear._

" _D'you feel like you've got closure now?" he asked. Phil paused, thinking about it._

" _I do," he said slowly. "They were all wrong about me. I showed them that I ended up better than they thought I would."_

" _Not ended. You're still going, babe."_

_Phil pulled Johnny's arms tighter around him, soulmarks separated only by clothing._

" _Marry me," he said. It was sudden, and he didn't blame Johnny for the hesitation._

" _Well, damn," Johnny said. "I was gonna ask you sometime. Bought the rings and everything. Don't tell me you've got rings?"_

" _Uh… no? That was… I just blurted it out."_

" _Good. Division of labour. While you're showering I'll send Susan a message, tell her you got in first. The others are ready to throw something together for us. We can get married as soon as we get back to New York."_

"… _Wow."_

" _Unless you want more input?"_

" _No! No, I'd be too organised. A groomzilla. Let's do it." He smiled, cheeks aching. Johnny groaned as he rubbed their noses together._

" _Can't wait to marry you, gorgeous," he murmured._

**5\. Not So Platonic After All (Bucky Barnes/Jemma Simmons/Phil Coulson)**

Jemma bonds with her soulmates as soon as she gets them alone, even though it's incredibly awkward at first, because she and Phil only met Bucky an hour ago, but she's determined and they're definitely willing. Bucky gets a bit snappy if someone calls him 'Bucky', which makes things awkward when he's finally reunited with Steve. But then the Avengers are so pissed off with Phil that it's a sufficient distraction. Then Bruce fanboys over Jemma, Tony fanboys over Fitz, and it goes both ways.

Phil has difficulty coming to terms with the youth (just physical in Bucky's case) of his soulmates, especially since it's unknown whether Bucky will age. He's glad that Jemma and Bucky will have each other when – if – he gets much older. Bucky and Jemma twig onto his fears and do everything they can to reassure him; after all, they're non-platonic soulmates for a reason, aren't they? Phil's fears never truly go away, but he finds himself far more optimistic than before.

**6\. Powered By Awesome (Clint Barton/Darcy Lewis/Natasha Romanov)**

Darcy is given some access to SHIELD, more of it if Clint and/or Natasha is on the premises, like any agent's soulmate. As soon as she gets back to the tower – while Natasha and Clint are still debriefing – she goes straight to Jane, Thor, and Tony to find out what other hidden extras have been included in her taser. There's the alert that it's been used, a GPS, the extra-long voltage without contact bars, but the level isn't so high that the zap would be fatal. She gives them a long lecture about being over-protective, when she has clearly proven that she is more than capable of taking care of herself.

…Okay, so it's because the bad guys were idiots who underestimated her, but bugging a person without their knowledge is probably some kind of federal offence, so they're not allowed to do that again. They can track her phone – anyone can track that – but her taser is _not_ to be messed around with, capiche?

Clint and Natasha are somewhat wary when it comes to bonding with Darcy, since there's always the possibility that she might feel second-hand pain if one or both are being tortured. Then again, they could find her more easily in a crisis, which leads to them bonding after a formal ceremony, since Clint is a sap like that, and Natasha is determined to do right by their heroine. Darcy doesn't care, as long as there's booze at the party.

**7\. Defrosting (Leo Fitz/Steve Rogers, background Bucky Barnes/Jemma Simmons)**

The Avengers meet with SHIELD whenever they can, so that Steve can spend time with Fitz, and Bucky can continue to woo Simmons. Fitz is still baffled that Steve wants to be with him, and Steve has great difficulty in convincing Fitz that yes, Steve is extremely attracted to him, and no, he has no problems with homosexuality or bisexuality or any of those other 'things' which were frowned on in the 1940s.

Simmons, meanwhile, is coy with Bucky, who has great fun pursuing her. He still sees a SHIELD-approved therapist once a week, because he wants to be as whole as he can for his soulmate when they bond. Once he's sure what her answer will be, he proposes, and she accepts. For safety's sake, he makes her sleep in a separate bed after they're married, but finds that when they've been renewing their bond he doesn't have nightmares.

Steve doesn't have nightmares either when he bonds with Fitz ( _after_ he convinces Fitz to bond with him). Fitz refuses to marry Steve, because he secretly doesn't want to tie his soulmate down in case Steve changes his mind. Not that Steve notices this until Natasha points it out, and he isn't sure whether to bring up Fitz's insecurities, or just prove him wrong by living with Fitz every day for the rest of their lives. Ultimately, he sticks with the latter, partly because he wants Fitz to see it for himself, and partly because he loves that look of surprise, and finally acceptance.

**8\. Notes (Initially Clint Barton/Nick Fury, later Clint Barton/Jemma Simmons)**

On the surface, Fury remains calm and unsurprised when he finds out that Clint has a new soulmate, and that it's the female half of FitzSimmons. On the inside, he's disappointed in himself for emotionally neglecting Clint throughout virtually their entire relationship, and that Clint has already found a replacement. Especially one who's so different from Fury. If she wasn't such an unassuming slip of a woman, he would threaten her into looking after Clint, but chances are that she could retaliate in some nasty way, and he'd prefer not to experience her brand of revenge.

Clint is a devoted sub, just as Jemma is a devoted domme. The first time someone realises the dynamics of their relationship (Tony), there is much surprise and teasing, until chemical-tainted arrows are found lodged in the wall above said teaser's bed. Clint and Jemma don't care about people knowing, aside from the fact that HYDRA could go after one or the other of them. But their friends know the truth, which is the main thing.

**9\. Show Some Respect (Melinda May/Steve Rogers, background Phil Coulson/Sam Wilson)**

May and Steve make good use of the cockpit and Steve's serum-induced stamina. He worships her for the BAMF she is, and tries not to treat her like porcelain. They both know he'll always hold back at least a little bit, which is probably sensible, because he heals easily and has super-strength, whereas Melinda May, while known as the Cavalry, definitely isn't immortal. And that's a story she eventually tells Steve, four months into their relationship, how she came by the nickname The Cavalry. He calls it her origin story, and encourages her to let go and show vulnerability in front of him, so that she doesn't bottle it up inside until it gets too much for her, and puts her at risk.

As for Sam and Phil, they meet up frequently. Sam calls them sessions, because he recognises that Phil thinks Sam could do a lot better. During the 'sessions', Sam subtly encourages Phil to see that he's totally worthy (or at least somewhat worthy) of being with Sam. It takes a lot of doing, and when Phil realises that Sam's been… well, 'conditioning' is too strong a word, but he's definitely been manipulating Phil in some way, he's furious. It ends up with angry kisses on his part, accepting ones on Sam's part, and they nearly bond before Phil comes to his senses. But Sam's positive physical reaction suggests that he _might_ be amenable to a slightly less platonic relationship. (Sam rolls his eyes when Phil puts it that way.)

Steve asks May to marry him… three times. On the third time, he wilts just as she's starting to reject him, and she finds that she can't do it, so she accepts. Steve worries that his puppy-dog eyes have maybe forced her into something she doesn't want, but she reassures him that her previous marriage should never have taken place because she and Andrew weren't soulmates. His soulmate had rejected him, and he and May were attracted to each other, so they decided why not? The separation was fairly amicable, and she's glad to have found Steve, so she decides to give marriage another go.

**10\. No Pussy Jokes (Alphonso Mackenzie/Darcy Lewis/Leo Fitz)**

Fitz doesn't risk incurring Darcy's wrath by making any pussy jokes, though they both tease Mack mercilessly for his first words to Darcy… pretty much for the rest of their lives. He does like teasing his mark behind Darcy's ear, which gets her terribly flushed, especially when Fitz kisses the ring of his mark around her wrist. Darcy gets her revenge when she can, but she doesn't mind her two men taking care of her.

When she finally introduces the boys to her parents, she has to show off her new feline powers by transforming parts of herself into a cat. At least her father puts his shotgun away, and there's talk from her mother about Darcy needing to provide them with grandchildren before too long, which embarrasses the hell out of Darcy. She's positive that she'd make a terrible mother, and later bemoans the fact that she can't tell her parents what she does, otherwise they'd understand that babies simply aren't on the agenda.

But it's an idea that she just puts on the backburner, considering the way her soulmates had clearly perked up at the prospect. After all, there are three of them, which would make child-rearing much easier.


	2. Chapters Eleven to Twenty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Next ten chapters.
> 
> Chapter eleven: http://archiveofourown.org/works/3398315/chapters/7527260

**11\. This Is Not Good (Johnny Storm/Phil Coulson/Victor von Doom)**

A truce is called between America and Latveria, and Doom continues to help SHIELD. He has spies in other countries, and the truce is kept under wraps; basically, only SHIELD and Barack Obama know about it. Even the CIA and the FBI are in the dark, and only Phil and Johnny's closest friends and family know about the soulmateship.

Due to his rocky start with Doom, Johnny refuses to bond with him, even platonically, and Doom has to accept that. Phil sympathises with him, but he loves Johnny, and respects his wishes. As triad soulmateships usually only have one non-platonic bond, it is possible for the 'third wheel' (a derogatory term for the platonic third soulmate) to form a relationship with a Blank, or with the platonic from another triad. So Phil takes it upon himself to find someone for Doom, partly to assuage his guilt, and partly so that Johnny will never feel obligated to bond with Doom.

When Johnny realises what Phil is doing, he is eager to help, mainly so that Doom will stop looking so forlorn whenever he speaks with them. (And no, Johnny doesn't like Phil and Doom to speak in private.) Weirdly enough, Johnny inspires Phil with an off-hand comment about setting Doom up with Darcy, because Double-Ds. Phil glares at him for that for a few seconds, and then realises that it's ingenious. Darcy is the platonic third soulmate for Jane and Thor, and she's complained before about being a third wheel. He subtly gives Doom the idea of seeking out Darcy's company, which eventually leads to a relationship. Darcy's degree in political science comes in handy when she marries the ruler of Latveria, that's for certain.

**12\. Blond (Johnny Storm/Steve Rogers)**

Johnny actually makes it to their bonding ceremony on time, and is far more relaxed than Steve, who is expecting something bad to happen at any moment. He's unaware that nearly every one of their acquaintances had threatened their enemies, in no uncertain terms, into staying away from the ceremony. In fact, they're able to spend their whole honeymoon uninterrupted, only running into trouble a few days after they get back.

The trouble? Turns out the media snapped some telling pictures of them, and their mischievous swaps are examined until they've cottoned on to every time Steve has pretended to be Johnny and vice versa. There's also the expected outcry from several corners about Captain America's soulmate being a man, and one who resembles him so much. Steve does his best to ignore the vitriol, though it cuts him deeply that he doesn't have the support he expected. Johnny feels guilty, but there's no way he's leaving his soulmate, so he arranges a solo press conference, filmed live, where he defends their relationship. It reduces Steve to tears, and he's the third call-in. He declares his love for Johnny on live national TV, and social media goes wild.

**13\. Falling in Lab (Bruce Banner/Jemma Simmons)**

Bruce and Jemma bond quickly, much to everyone else's horror (Phil) or amusement (Skye and Tony). It means that they have to form an alliance between SHIELD and the Avengers, because to separate Bruce from his soulmate would lead to a Hulk-out, and Jemma is as loyal to SHIELD as she is devoted to her soulmate. The Avengers are somewhat grudging at first, still pissed off with Phil.

May and Steve discover that they're soulmates when she snaps at him for being hard on Phil. It reinforces the need for an allegiance, which makes things awkward for Phil and Clint, who were soulmates. Phil had been happy to keep away because Clint had rejected him, and Phil hadn't fought since he was Clint's handler. Then Clint married Laura, and the soulmarks disappeared after Phil's death, so there's no going back.

There's plenty of space in Stark Tower, but Phil doesn't think that there's enough room for him to stay with the Avengers, so he stays on the SHIELD base. Skye goes with him after rejecting Tony's job offer, Jemma stays with Bruce, and May and the others follow Phil to base, even though Steve wants to get to know his soulmate. But she's insecure about being Captain America's soulmate, pissed off at the other Avengers (even Bruce for 'stealing' Jemma), and extremely loyal to Phil. Things are awkward for a long time.

Then (since this was written before 'Ultron'), Jemma falls pregnant. Bruce is overprotective-ness personified, and since she's closer to her SHIELD family than the Avengers, he takes her back to her friends for the duration of the pregnancy. They're glad to have her back, and Bruce finds he can do more with SHIELD than with Tony, and with May's help gets better control over the Other Guy. Add to that his strength, and he becomes a pretty good field agent. (Jemma and the baby being his prime motivation.)

**14\. Let It Go (Phil Coulson/Sam Wilson)**

Sam spends the night watching over Phil, making sure he has enough sleep, comforting him when he has nightmares. He calls the Avengers in the morning, as he promised, and berates them for their attitude towards Phil when he's obviously so vulnerable. Not that they knew about the alien blood thing, but what did they expect when he'd been dead for five days? They're lucky he isn't a vegetable, though his sanity seems to be slipping.

In the ensuing days, Phil apologises for being a bad soulmate by not bonding with Sam right away, and Sam continues to tell him that it's okay, they can take it slow, Phil's been waiting much longer, Sam's in no rush. Phil questions Sam even wanting to bond with him, but Sam is patient. He's seen all of this before. And when he wakes from a nightmare, Phil's there to look after him, putting them on slighter more even footing, not that Sam would put it like that. But it gives Phil more insight into the fact that they're all a little bit broken, even the ones who are supposed to help 'fix' them.

Sam can't stay at SHIELD, because of his work. However, after only getting to see Phil sometimes and talking with him on the phone when neither of them are on a mission, he enlists SHIELD's help in finding Bucky. Once he's in Steve's care, Sam quits his normal job, joins SHIELD so he can see Phil more often, and they bond.

(And Trip lives. Yay!)

**15\. Rock the World (Jemma Simmons/Johnny Storm/Skye)**

They spend a very enthusiastic night together, and spend the morning discussing the possibility of going away for the weekend. With the Avengers now back in SHIELD's picture, they can cover for Jemma and Skye. Skye insists on talking to Phil about it first, and is surprised and angry that he spent hours arguing with the Avengers (and Pepper), defending his actions. The only reason May didn't intervene is because she was needed back at the base in her capacity as Phil's deputy.

Fitz gives an extremely technical and terrifying shovel talk to Johnny while Susan is giving her own frightening shovel talk to Skye and Jemma. The three compare notes and unanimously decide that some time away is for the best, since they live with crazy-scary people. They end up going to Hawaii, so they won't be too far away if trouble strikes.

**16\. Tell Me (Bucky Barnes/Clint Barton/Phil Coulson)**

Bucky doesn't stray far from his soulmates' sides, which means that Clint and Phil have to stick close together so their third doesn't feel torn between them. After the post-battle debrief, Phil has to explain himself, how he was brought back to life, everything that's been involved with restoring SHIELD to a better, HYDRA-free version. Then Clint and Bucky drag him away so they can be alone together. Even though they were soulmates, Phil and Clint never spent a great deal of time talking about personal things, so, in a guest suite of Stark Tower, they talk for hours, before falling asleep in a tangle on the sofa.

Bucky is still wary of any incarnation of SHIELD, Clint was alone for months, and Phil has SHIELD to think about. Now that he has to deal with the Avengers, despite Tony disassociating himself with SHIELD, he's going to be busier than ever. Neither Bucky nor Clint wishes to be a burden on their harried soulmate, so it takes a few weeks of separation before Skye calls them, tells them to pull their heads out of their butts, and meet with Phil somewhere before his pining drives everyone crazy. They agree on a need for compromise… though as they thrive on living one moment to the next, and not making long-term plans, it's appropriate that they make it up as they go along.

**17\. Pretend to Die (Bucky Barnes/Jemma Simmons/Steve Rogers)**

Phil keeps his promise of calling Clint, and the Avengers visit SHIELD, two by two in the most secret way possible. Bucky and Steve shower attention and courting gifts on an overwhelmed Jemma, who wants to drag them to bed, but finds it hard to see the relationship working out in the long-term. Who knows what the serum did to the two of them? They might outlive her significantly. Any day one of them could die, and she doesn't see the logic in making promises they can't keep. (The HYDRA thing has made her far more cynical.)

Tony agrees to give some funding to SHIELD, and to help with their tech, even though Fitz is more than capable. Well, when his hands are steady and he can be understood. At least they have Mack's help, thank goodness. Bruce and Jemma discuss what happened to Fitz, in case they can do anything. Fitz and Jemma aren't talking, since she hasn't been back all that long so he's still pissed, and she and Mack aren't getting along.

The atmosphere is tense enough for Jemma to go back to Stark Tower with Bucky and Steve, to get to know them and to give Fitz breathing room, now that he knows (part of the reason) why she was gone. Steve and Bucky are sickeningly old-fashioned, while she's trying to convince them to make the most of their brief time together, although she's not sure whether returning to SHIELD is a good idea, considering the strain in her relationship with Fitz. So she stays at Stark Tower for the time being, and makes friends with a woman named Helen Cho (in between trying to seduce her stubborn soulmates).

**18\. Help (Jemma Simmons/Nick Fury)**

Jemma joins Fury on his secret missions, slightly annoyed that she doesn't always know what's going on, but accepting that keeping secrets is a hard habit to break for the former head of SHIELD. She's let in on Theta protocol, however, when that crops up. Phil is relieved to see her, despite knowing who she was with, and is glad that the Helicarrier will have her on the staff. Then Ultron attacks Latveria, the Avengers are trying to save the day, and the Helicarrier shows up to help out.

One of the heroes is dead for about five minutes before Jemma revives him. Even then it's touch-and-go, but at least Pietro is alive. Unfortunately, without Dr. Banner around to help out, and with a crew she barely knows, Jemma is on her own in creating a synthetic version of the GH325 (without alien crazy matter). It aids Pietro's recovery.

After a tiring forty hours, Fury makes his soulmate go to bed, although she's up four hours later and telling him that he's a hypocrite for telling her to sleep longer. She takes cat naps until Pietro is out of the danger zone, and then sleeps for nearly sixteen hours before Fury wakes her up. The Avengers are incredibly grateful that she was able to help, freeing up other medical personnel to heal injured Latverians.

The ruler of Latveria, Victor von Doom, was out of the country when Ultron struck, and he thanks SHIELD for saving his people. Even though he was gentlemanly towards her, Fury is convinced that Doom was making eyes at Jemma, and caves in to her demands for a bond. They continue to fly around, taking out known HYDRA agents, and Jemma is able to contact her friends at SHIELD so they can see that she is, in fact, still alive.

**19\. Long Years Ago (Tony Stark/Victor von Doom)**

They bond (see 'Fate's Bonding Scenes'), and Tony legitimately has trouble walking in the morning. While in bed, they discuss strategies for Victor to redeem himself in the public eye without having to reveal his connection to Tony… yet. If that's their only option, they'll go on a talk-show and explain what happened. That would involve a meeting with Pepper, and possibly the board of directors, but Victor's perfectly happy to schmooze while Tony designs stuff on his StarkPad.

It's not just to discuss the effect on Stark Industries, though. They also need to work out what will happen with Latveria. Victor is its ruler, and he can't just give that up, not when he's done so much good for his country. It's a matter of weighing up whether Tony will move to Latveria, leaving Pepper in charge of SI in America, or whether Victor will nominate a new ruler for Latveria and move back to the USA.

On one hand, if Tony can establish a superhero group in Europe, then they don't have to rely on someone else to make the long-haul flight when there's trouble. And since it turns out that SHIELD is back, he can make contact with them. On the other hand, he's already comfortable with the Avengers, and no one knows what would happen to SI stocks if the last remaining Stark moved overseas. As far as Tony's concerned, the shares don't matter, as long as people are still employed and he can be with his soulmate.

After debating over it, Tony moves to Latveria, and he and Victor design environmentally friendly ways to travel; so that, after Victor trains his replacement, he's able to relocate to America with Tony. He remains a long-distance advisor, and the superhero group that Tony formed moves around Europe as needed. He sends design improvements to them, and his Latverian branch of SI creates the new equipment.

**20\. Mew-Mew Time (Bucky Barnes/Darcy Lewis)**

Darcy introduces Bucky to her parents, who are both alarmed and relieved. After all, her soulmark ('Stay out of the way') turned out to be her soulmate trying to keep her safe, not being an asshole. Plus, he's probably going to become an Avenger. However, being an Avenger's soulmate has disadvantages as well as advantages, mainly to do with being a potential target. Just because Bucky is a war hero (born before Darcy's grandparents), and Captain America's best friend, it doesn't mean they won't worry about their little girl. Especially since Bucky was a brainwashed assassin for seventy years.

Fortunately, when it comes to introducing the idea of the Winter Soldier joining the Avengers, Darcy is the mistress of spin. She uses social media and her poli-sci degree shamelessly, and when she proves adept at pulling the public to their side, Pepper nabs her for SI's marketing department on a part-time basis.

Meanwhile, Bucky does everything he can to make sure that he can be a good, safe soulmate for Darcy, because the last thing he wants to do is hurt her. She appreciates the gesture, but points out that you can't get any worthier than being able to wield Mjolnir.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken awhile to get around to doing the next chapter. I've been having problems with my laptop AGAIN (still), and it doesn't feel like I'm on holidays at the moment; feels like when I was unemployed, to be honest.
> 
> Ugh. I'm supposed to be writing, and instead I'm lounging around watching 'The Nanny', playing computer games, and reading fan fiction, rather than being productive. Oops.
> 
> Please review!


	3. Chapters Twenty-One to Thirty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link to chapter 21: http://archiveofourown.org/works/3398315/chapters/7590923

**21\. Extremis (Johnny Storm/Pepper Potts)**

Johnny takes Pepper under his wing and teaches her how to control her fire power, even though it takes awhile between her CEO duties and his superhero duties. She takes a long time to trust him not to continue his womanising ways, no matter how much he tries to prove himself worthy of her trust, to the point where he's on the brink of giving up. It takes Tony to point out how unfair Pepper is being towards her _soulmate_ , of all people.

She still doesn't want to be a superhero, despite the powers and near-invincibility that Extremis gave her. As she put it to Tony once, 'That was really violent'. She doesn't even like Johnny being a superhero, because she worries about him. Since Johnny has nearly given up, he doesn't realise that she's trying to flirt back (and Pepper is really awkward at flirting, no matter how long she's worked for Tony Stark). She has to hit him around the head with a clue, i.e. an offer to bond, before he catches on.

" _Wait, are you_ serious _?" Johnny said, staring at Pepper with wide eyes. "You're not pranking me or something, are you? `Cause that'd be cruel."_

_She rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. I'm sorry I haven't made myself clear, Johnny."_

" _The term 'mixed signals' comes to mind."_

_Pepper poked him. "I've never deliberately flirted to get my own way. I prefer to use professional charm. This is new to me. I didn't mean to screw this up, I really didn't—"_

" _Hey, hey." He pulled her closer and rubbed her upper arms. "Calm down. Nothing's screwed up. I thought_ I'd _screwed up, because that's what I do."_

" _No, you've been perfect," she said, leaning into his heat. "Will you bond with me?"_

" _I'm the luckiest guy in the world," he said. "Yes, I'll bond with you, Virginia Potts."_

**22\. Play With Your Arrow (Clint Barton/Leo Fitz, Alphonso Mackenzie/Wanda Maximoff, Bucky Barnes/Jemma Simmons)**

Clint and Fitz talk long into the night about Scotland and the circus and the parts of their work that they can talk about. Fitz describes the months of therapy after his near-drowning, and Clint lets him vent his frustrations. He offers to coach Fitz in self-defence, the playing dirty (not in a fun way) kind, and to teach him better sniping skills to strengthen his muscles. Fitz mutters a poor, inappropriate pun to do with exercising hand muscles and playing with Clint's 'arrow', which makes Clint laugh and Fitz blush.

Mack and Wanda are chaperoned everywhere by Pietro, since the twins don't want to be separated much at first, and because Pietro doesn't trust Mack with his sister, which Wanda finds incredibly embarrassing. She's inexperienced, but Mack's her soulmate, and he'd never hurt her. She doesn't object too much, though, because her power is still fairly unstable, so having her brother there means he can keep an eye out and make sure that Wanda doesn't accidentally manipulate Mack.

While he's still regaining himself, Bucky is reluctant to have Simmons around, but she doesn't want to be kept from her soulmate. Plus, she's a doctor. Not _that_ kind of doctor, and there would probably be ethical issues if she tried to help him like that, no matter how desperate she is to shield him from the evils of the world. Sometimes he's happy to have her around, and sometimes he accuses her of crowding him. But Simmons takes everything because she's not leaving her soulmate when he needs her the most, and he seems perfectly well adjusted most of the time.

Of course, all of this leads to an alliance between SHIELD and the Avengers, after the latter forgive Coulson for keeping his resurrection a secret from them.

**23\. Dead and Alive (Phil Coulson/Wade Wilson)**

Wade wakes up thinking that he dreamed the whole thing, which leads Phil to showing him that even if he dreamt something, reality is so much better. They bond again before even leaving the room, and Phil is suspicious when they don't run into any of his curious agents on the way to breakfast.

Eventually, May joins them, and explains that Phil and Wade were rather 'vocal' during their bonding, which is why the junior agents are avoiding them, due to a combination of embarrassment and awe. May slept soundly, although she heard some of their efforts in the morning during her exercises, and congratulates them. When Wade seems set to chatter her ears off, however, she leaves them to breakfast alone. Although it's probably supposed to be a romantic meal, Phil ends up discussing Wade working for SHIELD, Hunter's suggestion originally. Wade will train as a field agent (not for 'quiet' ops) and will be part of a rescue team if they need him to rescue someone via teleportation.

Whenever Phil gets a headache or has just plain had a long day, he knows that he can join Deadpool in their room, and let Wade's mindless nattering wash over him and cancel out the stress of the day, or bond with him again. Wade never ceases to be amazed by this.

**24\. Reunion (Jane Foster/Jemma Simmons)**

Despite her pleas, Jemma is only allowed to say goodnight to Jane, who is then driven back to her apartment. During the ride, she is interrogated by Jemma's parents, a scary thing, but not as bad as Jemma feared when she speaks to Jane later (number courtesy of Bruce and Tony). Jane's still a little terrified by the next morning, but she's alive, so Jemma's parents _probably_ approve of her. Jemma repeats her wish to keep Jane away from her uncles, which makes Jane curious, but she reins it in for Jemma's sake.

It turns out there's been a betting pool on whether Jane and Jemma are soulmates. Now that it's confirmed, the pool changes to when they'll bond, whether Jane will meet Jemma's mysterious uncles before Jemma drags her back to America, and who'll propose first. No one tells either Jemma or Jane about this, in case they incur the women's wrath.

They do find out about the debates over what nickname to give their pairing. The J Doctors is one. BioStar is another. Simster is Fitz's favourite, for some reason. It still isn't resolved when they both finally sneak back into the country with Tony's help, and end up bonding on the plane. Tony won that bet.

**25\. On Fire (Johnny Storm/Maria Hill)**

Johnny is still reluctant to hand over his cloaked clothing, and he sure as hell wouldn't do it without asking Reed. If it fell at all into the wrong hands, there's no telling what might happen. The fewer people who know, the better.

Maria is more curious about her soulmate than the advanced tech he's been wearing to follow them around. And grateful to him for saving her life. The excessive flirting she could do without, and Susan gives her tips on dealing with Johnny, 'for future reference', though Maria doesn't think she'd actually bond with him. Have sex, yes, but bonding isn't something to jump into when a casual relationship works just as well. Johnny grumbles that the difference is that they're _soulmates_ , but Maria is firm on the point.

Eventually, he gets bored of not being allowed to bond with Maria, and his soulmark on her is fading. Hers is dark enough on him to signal that she's fine with a non-platonic arrangement, but it may as well be platonic for all the romance he's getting. He's been trying to change, and another person points out that being someone else will defeat the purpose of soulmateship. Accepting this, Johnny returns to his old self, without the womanising, though now he's not above flirting with other women.

When Maria finds out, he tells her everything, and she's disappointed in herself, worse so when he says that he doesn't blame her for not wanting a long-term relationship with him. So she promises to try, and they talk more, to find out what it is that makes them perfect for each other on the inside.

**26\. Strike (Brock Rumlow/Darcy Lewis/Jack Rollins)**

It's barely a week before Darcy goes into labour, and she keeps Brock and Jack with her so that she can squeeze their hands and scream at them while she gives birth. She has this superstition, passed down through her family, that anything other than completely natural birth isn't really birth at all. (She blames it on an ancestor having played Macbeth.) Of course, she isn't thinking about any of this during the labour, and when the second child comes it isn't as bad.

Both men have been an absolute rock for her since they were reunited, and are enamoured of their children; it's even possible that the twins are half-siblings. Darcy insists 'never freaking again, or I'm cutting your dicks off'.

" _Please tell me they're boys," she begged the ceiling, while a nurse patted her forehead and another delivered the afterbirth. The weirdest sensation, but a lot less painful._

" _To carry on the family name?" the midwife asked._

"No _," Darcy said. "Screw that. If_ those two _," she pointed at her soulmates, "have fathered daughters, they're going to be the most spoiled and over-protected little girls ever born, I swear to God."_

" _Don't worry; they're boys this time," Brock said over his shoulder, and Jack grinned._

_Darcy glared at them, and as soon as she could, she pointedly closed her legs._

**27\. Green Flames (Bruce Banner/Johnny Storm)**

Bruce is eager to work on a project with Reed, which makes both Johnny and Tony jealous, because Bruce doesn't belong to Reed Richards! His brain belongs to Tony and everything else is Johnny's… obviously. (In Johnny's opinion, everything about Bruce is his, not that he'll ever tell Bruce that.)

The next time the Hulk appears, Johnny requests a chat. Bruce is the only person who doesn't want Johnny to change, and Johnny has quickly become infatuated. The attraction is no longer physical, and it isn't about bonding because they're soulmates.

If the intensity of having sex would be enough to make his soulmate change, bonding could be worse. On the other hand, if a bond would settle him, maybe there'd be less of a chance of involuntary hulk outs?

Johnny explains to the Hulk that they're soulmates, and that he wants nothing more than to bond with Bruce. It wouldn't be physically possible to bond with the Hulk, but once they're connected by the soul, he's sure that will carry over to Bruce's alter ego. And Johnny admires the Hulk, he really does. The Hulk likes Johnny – can't help it, since they're meant for each other – so he promises to stay quiet during the bonding process.

Bruce has forgotten the conversation by the time he wakes up, but Johnny is more than happy to fill him in. Bruce is deeply surprised. Johnny's more interested in pouncing on his soulmate as soon as they're alone, demanding a bond.

**28\. Cling to Faith and Honour (Phil Coulson/Victor Creed, Logan/Melinda May)**

The Avengers and SHIELD do their best to anticipate anyone Creed and Phil intend to kill and get there first, either capturing or taking them out. It's partly to save Phil, and partly to get him back sooner, even though he's too far gone to abandon Creed. Little do they know the full reason he'll stay by his soulmate.

May and Logan grow closer, even though she's skittish about getting into a relationship with him. He's happy to wait as long as it takes; he's been waiting all of his considerably long life, what he remembers of it, so he'll take whatever he can get when she's ready.

In the meantime, Phil is baffled over the changes to his physiology. Being deeply bonded to a mutant has had an effect on him. Old scars have partially cleared, including the ones from Loki's sceptre. (Whenever Creed sees them, he silently swears vengeance against Thor's brother.) But because of Creed's inner Alpha, the bond, his x-gene, and knotting at least twice a day, Phil has ended up carrying Creed's child. They head back to Stark Tower so that Jemma and Bruce can examine Phil and keep track of the pregnancy.

(And he insists on condoms in the future, though they'll probably forget every time.)

**29\. My Scientist (Darcy Lewis/Jemma Simmons)**

Over doughnuts and hot drinks, Darcy and Jemma get to know each other, and what they can talk about regarding their work (very little). Darcy spends a third of the time drooling over Jemma's accent, while Jemma tries to keep her eyes above the neckline, made difficult by Darcy's low-cut top. There's no more talk about what will happen in bed, though it's quickly decided that they'd prefer a non-platonic soulmateship.

When everyone else finds out, Tony and Bruce are torn over who to protect: their wrangler or their new play-mate. In the end, shovel talk duty is handed to Steve, who sits them down and gives them a stern talk about respecting each other's boundaries, not taking things too fast, and then runs out of things to say. Those who are spying on the conversation are either laughing or face-palming. Until he demonstrates how much he knows about sex by giving them detailed tips about eating out a woman. Tony never calls him a virgin again.

As the relationship progresses, it becomes clear that no one's separating them, which means a custody schedule would be useless. So the Avengers and SHIELD have to learn to play nicely. In the meantime, Jemma begins planning a proposal, because she's a traditional girl, damn it!

**30\. Nothing's Too Broken (Bruce Banner/Leo Fitz/Tony Stark, Phil Coulson/Sam Wilson/Steve Rogers, Jemma Simmons/Pepper Potts/Rhodey Rhodes)**

It's impossible to keep the news of the engagement quiet. When Bruce, Fitz, and Tony go down to breakfast with the others, everyone starts smiling at them secretively. At first Tony is sure that JARVIS tattled on them, but it's actually because all three are still wearing their engagement rings. They don't want the news to leave the tower, because who knows what catastrophe might happen? But it's important to inform their friends, and then impress upon them the need for secrecy until the wedding is over.

Phil had a long talk with Sam and Steve, all three sitting in Lola, Phil in the front and his soulmates in the backseat. They agreed to see more of each other, although they've convinced Phil that they're compatible. Or think they have. He's still not entirely sure that he hasn't dreamed a lot of this, and continues to shy from any overtures towards a bond. It's not until Sam forces himself and Steve to back off and give Phil room to breathe that he can think clearly. Bucky is there to support him, and gives Phil the boost of confidence he needs to go further with Steve and Sam.

In a reverse, Jemma has clung to Pepper and Rhodey whenever they've been around, nuzzling up to them and generally being a nuisance. It seems they're quite comfortable in the friendship they had before, although they're willing to go to bed with their soulmate whenever she can coax them there. But they never initiate things, and are often busy. So, feeling a bit neglected, when the opportunity crops up to do a project with Fitz, Bruce, and Tony – after the honeymoon – she leaps into it. Suddenly, she's barely leaving the lab for anything other than sleep and sustenance. On the plus side, all four are incredibly productive, and Jemma sinks back into her Science-Only mindset. So Rhodey and Pepper have to win her back after the project's done.

" _Who's interrupting our celebrations?" Tony said, scowling at the ceiling. "JARVIS, we're playing three-dimensional chess!"_

" _Miss Potts and Colonel Rhodes wish to bond with Dr. Simmons," JARVIS replied._

" _We've been to bed before," Simmons said, waving her hand while she kept her eyes on the holographic board. "Tell them to come back later."_

" _The distinction is that you have not bonded," JARVIS said. "Colonel Rhodes and Miss Potts apologise for neglecting your emotional needs."_

" _Tell them it's three-dimensional chess!" Fitz said, watching as Simmons made a move._

" _They will wait," JARVIS said. Simmons sighed._

" _As soon as we're done, I suppose I'll have to see what they're fussing about," she said._

Pepper and Rhodey more than make up for the time they've lost with their third, around the same time Phil and Sam are dozing off the bonding while Steve looks at them, and wonders how he got so lucky. The three-dimensional chess games finish when Fitz mentions whipped cream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saucy.
> 
> Still writing on the old laptop, and posting from the new one. Can't complain, though. I just hope the kids at school tomorrow behave themselves.
> 
> Please review! I'm working on a new chapter for 'Fate Has a Twisted Sense of Humour', and I've got several soulmateships meeting, not just the main one. I'll try to keep the others as background as possible, to test the waters.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, so many of you have wanted to know what happens next, and since I haven't the same patience/ability as ozhawk to expand some of the chapters – not to mention not wishing to show favouritism to any particular chapters – I thought something like this might give us all closure. After all, I have my own headcanons for what happened next, so I may as well share them with whoever's interested.
> 
> So… what do you think? Review, review, review! :D


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